FanDuel MLB Plays for Tuesday, April 29th

April 29 1:42pm

Spencer Limbach

Tuesday’s have a bad reputation, or I guess they are somewhat lacking a reputation entirely. Sure, they aren’t as bad as Monday’s, but being the second least exciting day of the week isn’t exactly something to hang your hat on. Luckily for you, a combination of 15 MLB games and variety of guaranteed FanDuel contests can make your “blah Tuesday” a little more eventful. Here are some of the featured tournaments on tap:

The ensuing picks should help you construct a winning lineup for this evening. I wrote up some of my favorite players from each position, along with a few “quick hitters” that didn’t quite make my top plays list, but I still thought they were worth a mention. Enjoy, and best of luck in all your fantasy baseball contests!

Be sure to double-check the forecast for each game today. Rain may be an issue for several games, so it is definitely something to keep an eye on.

STARTING PITCHER

Jose Fernandez (MIA) $10,200: Fernandez is clearly the “ace of the day”, at home against an Atlanta team with the propensity to strikeout often. He racked up 14 K’s on the Braves one week ago, and he should feel more comfortable pitching at home, where he has a 1.19 ERA (as opposed to 3.50 ERA on the road).

Cole Hamels (PHI) $8,200: Hamels is a very solid pick tonight if you don’t want to exhaust your salary cap on the high-priced arm of Jose Fernandez. Hamels will take on a subpar Mets offense that ranks 27th in the league vs left-handed pitching. The “catch” is finding run-support from an anemic Philly’s offense. However, Philadelphia is listed as mild favorites tonight, which somewhat alleviates those concerns.

Alex Wood (ATL) $7,700: He has been one of the best breakout pitchers to start the 2014 season, and I don’t see any reason for him to slow down against the Marlins tonight. Wood has shown tremendous strikeout upside, recording 8, 7, and 11 K’s in his last three games. The 11 strikeout performance came against the same Miami team he will take on tonight. Even though the odds of out-dueling Jose Fernandez to pick up a win are not in his favor, Wood still has plenty of upside in IP and K’s this evening.

CATCHER

Buster Posey (SF) $3,900: It’s a “Posey Day” today! Any time the young Catcher goes up against a left-hander, you have to consider him. Take into account Eric Stults’ .337 wOBA vs right-handed batters, and Posey has all the makings of a favorable scenario that should be reflected in the box score tonight.

FIRST BASE

Miguel Cabrera (DET) $4,400: I could make a case for Miguel Cabrera pretty much every day, but tonight, against a mediocre left-handed pitcher, in a hitter-friendly park, looks like a great time to climb aboard the “Miggy-train”.

Quick Hitter — Mike Napoli (BOS) $3,700: You will see several Red Sox right-handed bats in this article, as I believe it is a viable strategy to pick on the Rays struggling pitcher, Erik Bedard. Napoli has a good chance to bat clean-up tonight, and he’s a potent threat for a Boston team that could light up the scoreboard in Fenway.

SECOND BASE

Dee Gordon (LAD) $3,600: Minnesota pitcher, Kyle Gibson, has had problems with lefties, as his .382 wOBA split is amongst the worst of probable pitchers this evening. Dee Gordon is the perfect kind of contact hitter to take advantage of this, and he possesses great upside in runs and stolen bases.

Quick Hitter – Dustin Pedroia (BOS) $3,500: Red Sox RHB #2. Note what I said about Napoli above, and consider that Pedroia is the best Boston hitter against left-handed pitching.

THIRD BASE

Pedro Alvarez (PIT) $3,300: Alvarez has been slumping in his past two series. Playing in a hitter-friendly park (Baltimore) against a fairly generous flyball pitcher (Chris Tillman) serves as a prime spot for a bounce-back performance with homerun upside.

SHORTSTOP

Jose Reyes (TOR) $3,300: I’m not seeing a whole lot of reasonably priced shortstop options this evening, so I will defer to Reyes, who’s talent level far exceeds his modest price tag. The matchup against Kansas City’s Vargas is neutral, but a breakout game is on the horizon for Reyes any day now, and he has some great hitters behind him for added security.

Quick Hitter –Ian Desmond $3,300: Desmond is a shortstop pick I love to target for upside. That definitely holds true tonight, considering his bat is heating up, and he will go up against the shaky pitching of Jared Cosart and the turbulent Astros bullpen.

OUTFIELD

Charlie Blackmon (COL) $4,300: I debated between listing Blackmon or his teammate Carlos Gonzalez in this nice spot, but I ultimately went with the healthier Blackmon, who is seeing the ball pretty well lately. Opposing pitcher, Michael Bolsinger, had a nice outing vs the Cubs last time around, but navigating this potent Rockies lineup will be a different story, led by the red-hot bat of Charlie Blackmon.

Jacoby Ellsbury (NYY) $4,100: Seattle’s Chris Young is a flyball-oriented pitcher playing in the “short-porch” of Yankee Stadium. This may not end well for him. I like Ellsbury as one of the safest Yankee bats to target, but sluggers like Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran, and Kelly Johnson are also in play this evening.

Hunter Pence (SF) $3,900: With a seven game hit streak (four of which were multi-hit), Pence is on a tear right now. He should keep the momentum going against lefty Eric Stults, who I mentioned earlier, is very kind to right-handed batters.

Quick Hitters – Some cheaper bats you should consider for your lineups this evening: Jonny Gomes (BOS) $3,100 is another Red Sox RHB to target, and he always has decent HR upside … Toronto pitcher Dustin McGowan has been struggling lately, and Alex Gordon (KC) $2,800 is the one of the leading candidates from the Royals to give him fits … Gerardo Parra (ARI) $2,500 is starting a mini-hot streak, as displayed by a 3-4, HR game last night, and he has a fantastic matchup against the generous Tyler Chatwood this evening.